Accounting for the Consequences of Tobacco Dependence on Cravings, Self-efficacy, and Motivation to Quit: Consideration of Identity Concerns

Tobacco dependence has been found to increase smoking cravings, and reduce both self-efficacy and motivation to quit. The present research proposes to test the hypothesis that such negative consequences are related to identity concerns and should thus appear more strongly in dependent smokers with a high (vs. low) smoker identity. In two correlational studies, daily smokers (Study 1:N= 237; Study 2:N= 154) were assessed for tobacco dependence, smoker identity, self-efficacy, craving to smoke (Study 1), and motivation to quit (Study 2). Among smokers who declared to be strongly dependent, those scoring high in smoker identity reported more smoking cravings (beta = .28,p= .008, 95% CI [0.084, 0.563], n(p)(2) =.03) and less motivation to quit than those scoring low (beta = -.58, p = .003, 95% CI [-1.379, -0.282], n(p)(2) =.06). Smoker identity was unrelated to these variables among non-dependent smokers (ps >.40). The relationship between tobacco dependence and self-efficacy was not affected by smoker identity (ps >.45). Through these studies, we provided evidence that the implications of tobacco dependence on smoking maintenance and difficulties in quitting may be, in part, explained by identity mechanisms.